Paval Navara

Paval Navara (Belarusian: Павал Навара; 17 September 1927–24 May 1983), also romanised as Paul Navara, was a Belarusian émigré public figure and co-founder of the Anglo-Belarusian Society.[1]

Paval Navara
Павал Навара
Born(1927-09-17)September 17, 1927.
Kupisk village, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus)
DiedMay 24, 1983(1983-05-24) (aged 55)
London, UK
Resting placeSt Pancras and Islington Cemetery
Alma materUniversity of London
Known forCo-founder of the Anglo-Belarusian Society

Early years

Paval Navara was born on 17 September 1927 in Western Belarus, then part of the Second Polish Republic. After secondary school he studied at a teachers college in Navahrudak.

In 1944 at the age of 16, Navara was mobilized into the Nazi army (which occupied Navahrudak at the time) and sent to France where he surrendered to the Allies. Navara joined the Polish II Corps and, after some military training, fought for the Allies in Northern Italy.[2]

Life in Britain

After demobilisation in 1946, Navara settled in the UK and became one of the founders and council members of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain.[2]

In 1952, he earned a degree in chemistry from the University of London and embarked on a science career.

in 1954, together with Auberon Herbert, he founded the Anglo-Belarusian Society,[1][3] and in 1969 Navara, Herbert and Ceslaus Sipovich organised a successful fundraising campaign for the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, which allowed the acquisition of a building in North London to house the collection.[4][5]

Death

Navara died in 1983 at the age of 55. He is buried in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery alongside a number of other notable members of the Belarusian British community.[2]

References
  1. Гардзіенка, Наталля (2010). Беларусы ў Вялікабрытаніі [Belarusians in Great Britain, by Natalla Hardzijenka]. Minsk: Згуртаванне беларусаў свету Бацькаўшчына. p. 468. ISBN 978-985-6887-63-8.
  2. Гардзіенка, Наталля (2010). Беларусы ў Вялікабрытаніі [Belarusians in Great Britain, by Natalla Hardzijenka]. Minsk: Згуртаванне беларусаў свету Бацькаўшчына. p. 551-552. ISBN 978-985-6887-63-8.
  3. Šaucoū, Paval (2022). "Centenary of Auberon Herbert (1922–1974), the Man Who Started British-Belarusian Collaboration" (PDF). The Journal of Belarusian Studies. 12: 95. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. Гардзіенка, Наталля (2010). Беларусы ў Вялікабрытаніі [Belarusians in Great Britain, by Natalla Hardzijenka]. Minsk: Згуртаванне беларусаў свету Бацькаўшчына. p. 427. ISBN 978-985-6887-63-8.
  5. Nadson, Alexander (2007). Ceslaus Sipovich : the first Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th century (1914-1981). Minsk: Technalohija. ISBN 978-985-458-146-0. p.158
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